Vigils will be held beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday in San Francisco and in Oakland in observance of the killing of 11 people this morning at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
In San Francisco, the vigil will be at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St.
At the same time, a vigil will be held at Lake Merritt near the intersection of Euclid and Grand Avenues, on the northeast side of the lake near the pergola.
"People wondering, do I know somebody, is that my colleague the Rabbi? And If you’re a member of a minority community, it feels like a member of your family or many members of your family were struck," said Rabbi Sydney Mintz from Congregation Emanu-El.
For some, it was not a surprise that a Jewish synaogue was the latest target of violence, some say the president's rhetoric is partially to blame.
"Attacks on Jews, attacks on people of color, attacks on Transgender people, and on and on and on, and the president has opened the Pandora’s Box," said Senator Scott Weiner.
Participants at the Oakland vigil also will call for an end to the political rhetoric of anti-Semitism and white nationalism that has increasingly targeted Jewish and other communities in the run-up to the midterm elections.
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"Somebody mentioned on the news that there was going to be a vigil and I just jumped in my car," said San Francisco resident Alicia Langer. "There isn’t any place else I’d rather be. My whole family grew up in Pittsburgh, they’re simple, working class people and this is just not something this city deserves."
On Sunday, the San Francisco Interfaith Council will host a gathering beginning at noon extends at Temple Emanu-El, 1 Lake St. in San Francisco designed as a gathering of people of all faiths to mark Saturday's tragedy.
San Francisco Police Officer Giselle Linnane said today that police presence has been increased around the city's synagogues in light of the Pittsburgh tragedy. There were no known threats late Saturday afternoon, she said.
